Alabama Smith is thrilled to hear the news. The gifted
archeology student has been selected to participate
in a summer program at the University of Naples.
Alabama will join Professor Fairchild in the search for
an ancient artifact. Known as the Amulet of the Ages,
the artifact is believed allow its bearer to travel
through time. While Alabama does not believe the
amulet’s supernatural powers, discovering the item
would be an excellent start to his career. However,
the young archeologist’s job will not be easy. A secret
society is rumored to have an interest in the item. If
he wants to find the Amulet of the Ages and survive
his summer program, Alabama will have to remain
vigilant.

Alabama Smith in Escape from Pompeii is a casual
adventure game that puts players in the role of the
young archeology student. The game is divided into
three chapters. The quest for the amulet begins at the
University of Naples. During the first chapter,
Alabama searches the campus for clues about the
artifact’s location. The second chapter takes the
archaeologist to several excavation sites as he
continues to hunt for the amulet. The final chapter
offers a few surprises. As the story picks up, the
game also utilizes some fairly novel puzzles to keep
things interesting. Escape from Pompeii may not be a
groundbreaking achievement for the genre. However,
despite its flaws, the game manages to be
entertaining throughout and could be worth trying if
you are in the mood for a quick adventure fix.

The chapters are divided into small segments that
typically involve a single room. In each area, the
game provides some instructions about what to do on
the bottom right portion of the screen. In order to
advance to the next area, players are asked to locate
several hidden objects and use them to solve
puzzles. There are also several documents that
provide clues for solving puzzles. In general, the
items are not exceptionally difficult to locate. The
game also offers a hint system to help with the task.
Clicking on the question mark icon on the bottom left
portion of the screen causes a hidden object to flash,
making one item easier to spot. Once you use the
icon, it takes a few moments to recharge.

The puzzles come in several different varieties. Some
of them simply involve using an inventory item on an
object in the environment. The game also features
several types of logic puzzles, including a couple of
jigsaw puzzles and one slider puzzle. Each time you
encounter a logic puzzle, the game provides a short
set of instructions outlining how it works.

In addition to the object finding and puzzle solving
segments, Escape from Pompeii contains several
matching sequences. After completing all the puzzles
in certain areas, players are asked to hide evidence
of their visit. This is accomplished by presenting two
views of the location. The left side of the screen
represents what the room looked like before you
started collecting items and solving puzzles. The right
side represents the current state of the room. You are
supposed to find the differences and click on the
appropriate areas to correct them. You may need to
clean handprints or put inventory items to the spots
where you found them.

While these matching sequences can be entertaining,
the game contains too many of them. It seems as
though they exist for the sole purpose of padding
gameplay time. To make matters worse, some of the
differences between the two images seem entirely
arbitrary. Items you could not pick up when you were
solving puzzles in the room suddenly appear in your
inventory. Evidently, objects he didn’t even touch
have a way of spontaneously jumping into Alabama’s
pockets during cutscenes. The game would have
been better off with fewer matching sequences and a
couple more rooms to explore. Fortunately, the
matching segments do not last long enough to
significantly detract from the overall experience.

As with many other casual adventure games, Escape
from Pompeii has a score system. Players earn
points by finding hidden objects and solving puzzles.
The game uses a score multiplier to discourage
players from randomly clicking on everything on the
screen. Each time you correctly perform an action,
the multiplier bar at the top of the screen is filled by a
small amount. When the full portion of the bar
reaches the sections marked with 2X, 3X, 5X, and
10X, the corresponding multiplier is applied to next
set of points you earn. However, if you click on an
incorrect spot, the bar recedes, taking a few seconds
to reach its previous position. If you continue to
perform incorrect sections, the score multiplier
eventually reaches zero and you have to restart the
accumulation process.

Your score also depends on the difficulty setting.
Escape from Pompeii features two difficulty settings.
In the ‘Casual’ mode, players earn fewer points for
each correct action. However, the game displays a list
of the hidden objects you need to find at the top of the
screen. Players are also given the option to skip
puzzle sequences. In the ‘Expert’ mode, it is possible
to earn more points, but things are more challenging.
The object lists and skip options are not available.
The hint icon also takes longer to recharge. It is
possible to switch between the two difficulty modes at
any time during the game.

Alabama Smith in Escape from Pompeii certainly has
its share of issues. The hiding evidence segments
can become repetitive. Even for a casual adventure,
the game is on the short side and there is little reason
to play it more than once. My initial playthrough took
less than three hours. However, despite its
shortcomings, the game still manages to provide a
fun and relaxing experience. The hint icon and the
‘Casual’ difficulty setting make the game accessible to
new adventurers, while the ‘Expert’ mode will keep
things interesting for more seasoned gamers. The
puzzles are entertaining throughout the adventure. In
particular, the final chapter contains a couple of fun
surprises. It may not deliver the most memorable
adventure-gaming experience, but if you are looking
for a simple game for a relaxing evening, Escape
from Pompeii is worth considering.